Office of Strategic Communications & Marketing

Megan Jordan is the chief strategic communications officer at Claremont McKenna College, where she leads strategic communications, marketing, and public affairs for one of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges.

For more than 25 years, Megan has led communications for global organizations and clients, protecting and defending leaders’ and corporate reputations. In these roles, she was responsible for defining the companies’ communications strategies, overseeing internal and external communications, social media, content, creative teams, thought leadership and advertising. 

Jordan led corporate communications for several publicly traded corporations including Southern California Edison, Herbalife Nutrition and PLBY Group. For more than a decade, she held executive roles with international public relations agencies MSL Group, Cohn & Wolfe and Zeno where she directed PR rebranding campaigns, oversaw crisis communications, and launched revolutionary consumer products for clients including Nestle, Hilton, Kia, General Motors and Philips.

Jordan is a member of the Board of Advisors for USC Annenberg School of Journalism and Public Relations, where teaches at the graduate level as an adjunct instructor. She is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society. Jordan completed her bachelor’s in public relations at USC and her master’s in mass communications at California State University, Northridge.

Anne Bergman is Associate Director of Public Affairs and Communications.

She writes news stories and features for the College. Before joining CMC, Bergman was associate director of communications and social media at the USC Gould School of Law. At USC, she also served in communications roles for USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, as well as USC Marshall School of Business. Bergman has a background in entertainment journalism, and was an editor at Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. As a journalist, her articles have been published in the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bergman earned her B.A. in Film Studies from UC Santa Barbara and a Master’s degree in Journalism from USC.

Michelle Lee is a Web and Digital Marketing Content Specialist for CMC.edu.

She posts news stories, monitors stylistic and structural inconsistencies, tracks accessibility issues, and partners with campus departments to optimize the user experience for students, faculty, staff, and families. Lee is motivated to help CMC build a more intuitive website so that visitors can easily access the information they need. She has previously worked as a media developer at a data-first print and online marketing firm and as a junior accountant. Lee earned a B.A. in Communications from UC Davis and has a certificate from General Assembly for their Web Development Immersive course.

Brandon Luna is a Web Developer for CMC.edu.

He is a web UI/UX designer with a passion for everything tech related. Luna has worked with seminaries and other colleges in previous web jobs, and also has a background in film development from Los Angeles Film School. He worked as a director/editor and assistant editor on independent films, short films, and music videos, including projects with Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore, and Dulce Maria.

Anibal Ortiz is Associate Director of Multimedia Communications.

He serves as CMC's head photographer and videographer. Before joining the College, Ortiz worked as a visual journalist in Albany, Ore., where he covered news, sports, and feature stories for the Albany Democrat-Herald and the Corvallis Gazette-Times. A California native, Ortiz began his career in Southern California as a photographer at the Orange County Register. Ortiz earned a B.A. in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism from California State University, Fullerton.

Valerie Ramos is Assistant Director of Social Media.

With more than six years of experience in higher education social media, Ramos is passionate about elevating the Claremont McKenna College brand and building the College’s community pride and engagement. Ramos manages CMC’s official social media channels, content strategy and development, graphic branding and design, photo and video editing, reputation monitoring, and reporting analytics. Prior to joining CMC, Ramos worked at UC Riverside’s Extension Center as an administrative assistant, and managed social media content, photography, video production, and branded graphics. Ramos earned a B.A. in French from UC Riverside.​ In her free time, she dabbles in music, digital art, interior design, and cooking.

Gilien Silsby is Director of News and Media Relations.

She serves as the primary media contact for the College. Silsby has more than 18 years of experience in higher education communications. For 15 years, she served as Senior Director of Communications and Media Relations at USC Gould School of Law, where she placed stories and opinion pieces in national media, oversaw internal campus communications and crisis communications, and worked with multiple stakeholders to create a streamlined message. Prior to joining USC, Silsby was a newspaper reporter for the South Bay Daily Breeze/Copley News Service and Pasadena Star-News, where she covered the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She holds a degree in Journalism and Political Science from University of Oregon.

Malia Whitenack is Office Coordinator of Strategic Communications & Marketing.

She most recently worked for the Office of Stewardship at the College for several years. Prior to joining CMC, Whitenack worked in marketing at Pacific Advisors, a financial services firm in Claremont. She also held roles in print production for the Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, and Chambers catalogs at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. in San Francisco. Whitenack earned a B.A. in Sociology from UC Santa Barbara.